Grain management based on nutrient characteristics

ABSTRACT

A grain management system can condition a grain mass held in grain storage equipment using environmental inputs, varietal inputs, nutrient inputs, and/or characteristic inputs. The inputs can provide a customized grain conditioning strategy or program to maintain nutritional attributes of the grain mass and/or prevent overdrying, mold, decomposition, or other spoilage of the grain mass. The inputs can be entered by a user or automatically detected or entered based on present or historical data associated with the grain or grain conditioning equipment.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is based upon and claims priority to U.S. provisionalpatent application 62/097,346, entitled “GRAIN MANAGEMENT SYSTEM,” filedDec. 29, 2014, the entire contents of which are incorporated byreference herein.

FIELD

The disclosure relates in general to grain bin management systems, andin particular to, for example, without limitation, grain conditioningsystems that can be customized to maintain desired nutrientcharacteristics of the grain.

BACKGROUND

Equilibrium moisture content (“EMC”) is a characteristic of food grain.When grain achieves an EMC, the grain is neither gaining nor losingmoisture. The EMC concept can be used in grain storage techniques forin-bin natural air drying and storing of grains, oil seeds, andspecialty crops (collectively referred to herein as grain or grainmass).

After grain is harvested, the grain will dry until the grain reaches itsEMC, based on the relative humidity (“RH”) and temperature of theenvironment surrounding the grain. The moisture content of the grainmust be carefully controlled to ensure that the grain does not becomeover-dried, thus reducing the weight of the grain and commercial valuethereof. The moisture content of the grain must also be limited toprevent germination of the grain, infestation by insects andmicroorganisms, or other decomposition of the grain. For example, a RHof less than 65% will retard mold growth and is considered an acceptablelimit for safe storage moisture content. Indeed, grain storage orconditioning is a critical task in ensuring that grain achieves itshighest commercial value.

The description provided in the background section, including withoutlimitation, any problems, features, solutions or information, should notbe assumed to be prior art merely because it is mentioned in orassociated with the background section. The background section mayinclude information that describes one or more aspects of the subjecttechnology.

SUMMARY

The description in this summary section may provide some illustrativeexamples of the disclosure. This section is not intended to be a broadoverview or to identify essential elements of the disclosure.

An aspect of at least some embodiments disclosed herein is therealization that storage conditions for grain, such as air conditionselection for drying or rewetting, can be selected in response tovarious inputs, such as the EMC of the grain and/or other factors. Forexample, a grain conditioning strategy or program can be based on thegrain variety or hybrid, one or more desired grain nutrientcharacteristics, growing characteristics, environmental characteristics,and/or conditioning characteristics.

Another aspect of at least some embodiments disclosed herein is therealization that an EMC relationship or curve can vary among hybrids ofthe same variety of grain. Applicant has found that a change in seedcomposition in certain hybrids can also change the EMC characteristicsof that seed. As used herein, an EMC relationship or curve can bedefined as the EMC of grain at a given RH and ambient temperature. Forexample, there may be a difference of up to 2% moisture between twodifferent hybrids of corn (e.g., Pioneer P9690R and Sygenta 785) at thesame RH and ambient temperature. Thus, in some embodiments, although agrain conditioning operation can be based on the variety of a grain, thegrain conditioning operation can be based on the grain hybrid. Further,some embodiments can be implemented in which a grain conditioningoperation is based on one or more growing, environmental, orconditioning characteristics and/or one or more desired grain nutrientcharacteristics.

In accordance with some implementations of the present disclosure,Applicant has developed over 150 EMC curves for different hybrids withdifferent brand name and different trait resistance information. Asdiscussed further herein, these EMC curves can be used in combinationwith one or more growing, environmental, or conditioning characteristicsand/or one or more desired grain nutrient characteristics to generateinstructions for implementing a grain conditioning strategy or programspecific to a grain mass.

For example, some embodiments provide a system for conditioning a grainmass that can comprise a memory, having instructions, and a processorthat can be configured to receive one or more inputs and generateinstructions for controlling a conditioning operation for the grainmass. The inputs can comprise environmental data, a varietal inputrepresentative of a grain variety, a nutrient input representative of afood nutrient characteristic, and/or a characteristic inputrepresentative of a growing, environmental, or conditioningcharacteristic of the grain and/or grain conditioning equipment. Otherhistorical data of the grain mass or grain conditioning equipment canalso be utilized in developing or executing the conditioning strategy orprogram.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example architecture for a grain managementsystem, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the example client and serverfrom the architecture of FIG. 1, according to some embodiments.

FIGS. 3-4 illustrate example processes for conditioning grain, using anexample client and server of FIG. 2, according to some embodiments.

FIGS. 5A-5C are example screenshots associated with the exampleprocesses shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example computer system withwhich the clients and server of FIG. 2 can be implemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It is understood that various configurations of the subject technologywill become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from thedisclosure, wherein various configurations of the subject technology areshown and described by way of illustration. As will be realized, thesubject technology is capable of other and different configurations andits several details are capable of modification in various otherrespects, all without departing from the scope of the subjecttechnology. Accordingly, the summary, drawings and detailed descriptionare to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.

The detailed description set forth below is intended as a description ofvarious configurations of the subject technology and is not intended torepresent the only configurations in which the subject technology may bepracticed. The appended drawings are incorporated herein and constitutea part of the detailed description. The detailed description includesspecific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understandingof the subject technology. However, it will be apparent to those skilledin the art that the subject technology may be practiced without thesespecific details. In some instances, well-known structures andcomponents are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuringthe concepts of the subject technology. Like components are labeled withidentical element numbers for ease of understanding.

In accordance with some embodiments, a system can be provided thatconditions a grain mass held in grain storage equipment usingenvironmental inputs, varietal inputs, nutrient inputs, and/orcharacteristic inputs. The inputs can provide a customized grainconditioning strategy or program to maintain nutritional attributes ofthe grain mass and/or prevent overdrying, mold, decomposition, or otherspoilage of the grain mass. The inputs can be entered by a user orautomatically detected or entered based on present or historical dataassociated with the grain or grain conditioning equipment. The systemcan be a “smart” system that utilizes various inputs and historical dataobserved during the operation of the grain conditioning equipment orduring conditioning of the given grain type. The system can thus utilizepast results in developing conditioning strategies. Further, the systemcan utilize and incorporate real-time results or data from other grainconditioning systems, operating in parallel, in order to achievesuperior conditioning of the grain.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example architecture 100 for a grain conditioningor grain management system. The architecture 100 includes one or moregrain conditioning equipment 120, one or more servers 130, and one ormore client devices 110 connected over a network 150.

One or more servers 130 can be configured to receive inputs and generateinstructions for operating grain conditioning equipment. The servers 130can store received inputs and/or operational parameters of the grainconditioning equipment (“grain information”). This store data can beaccessed and used to facilitate determination and/or as a basis forgenerating instructions for operating the grain conditioning equipment.

The servers 130 can be any device having an appropriate processor,memory, and communications capability for a grain bin management system.The client devices 110 to which the servers 130 are connected over thenetwork 150 can be, for example, desktop computers, mobile computers,tablet computers (e.g., including e-book readers), mobile devices (e.g.,a smartphone or PDA), set top boxes (e.g., for a television), video gameconsoles, or any other devices having appropriate processor, memory, andcommunications capabilities. The network 150 can include, for example,any one or more of a personal area network (PAN), a local area network(LAN), a campus area network (CAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), awide area network (WAN), a broadband network (BBN), the Internet, andthe like. Further, the network 150 can include, but is not limited to,any one or more of the following network topologies, including a busnetwork, a star network, a ring network, a mesh network, a star-busnetwork, tree or hierarchical network, and the like.

The grain conditioning equipment 120 may be any device, such as fans,heaters, dryers, etc., capable of performing grain conditioningoperations. The grain conditioning equipment 120 may be internal orexternal to a grain bin or other grain storage equipment. The server 130may communicate to the grain conditioning equipment 120 through thenetwork 150, as shown in FIG. 1, or through another communicationchannel.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram 200 illustrating an example server 130 andclient device 110 in the architecture 100 of FIG. 1 according to certainaspects of the disclosure. The client device 110 and the server 130 areconnected over the network 150 via respective communications modules 218and 238. The communications modules 218 and 238 are configured tointerface with the network 150 to send and receive information, such asdata, requests, responses, and commands to other devices on the network.The communications modules 218 and 238 can be, for example, modems orEthernet cards.

The server 130 can include a processor 236, the communications module238, and a memory 232 that includes grain conditioning information 234.The grain conditioning information 234 can comprise EMC data or curvesfor various grain hybrids, historical data for a given grain mass orgrain conditioning equipment, as well as various mathematicalrelationships associated with grain, grain conditioning equipment,and/or environmental attributes. The processor 236 of the server 130 isconfigured to execute instructions, such as instructions physicallycoded into the processor 236, instructions received from software inmemory 232, or a combination of both. For example, the processor 236 ofthe server 130 can execute instructions to receive a request from theclient device 110, a non-authenticated device, to view content. Therequest can be sent by the communications module 218 of the clientdevice 110 over the network 150 to the communications module 238 of theserver 130 for processing by the server processor 236.

The memory 220 of the client device 110 can include grain input data222. The grain input data can be accessed and selected to be sent overthe network 150 as an input to the server 130. The processor 212 can beinstructed to provide, for display (e.g., on output device 214), one ormore selections that can be made by the user using the input device 216,for example, based on any of the grain input data 222.

Based on the input to the server 130 over the network 150 from thecommunications module 218, the server 130 can generate instructions foran output device 214, such as any of a variety of grain conditioningdevices or equipment or the grain conditioning equipment 120.Alternatively, the server 130 may communicate instructions to the grainconditioning equipment 120 through the network 150. The processor 236can generate and/or execute instructions to control or direct control ofgrain conditioning devices or equipment in response to the input fromthe client 110 and/or an input from the input device 240. Input device240 can comprise a monitoring device such as a condition sensor assemblyconfigured to detect temperature, RH, air pressure, mass or size, orother attributes of the grain or grain bin. Such devices can includethose disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,806,772, the entirety of which isincorporated herein by reference.

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate example processes 300, 350 for managing a grainbin or other grain storage equipment. In both of the processes 300, 350,the grain storage equipment holds grain and includes one or morefeedback mechanisms that monitor temperature, RH, and/or otherattributes of the grain or grain equipment characteristics. Theprocesses 300, 350 can enable a user to dry recently harvested grain ina manner that retains desired grain characteristics, quality, andmoisture content. The user can thereby minimize infestation andgermination while maximizing consumer acceptability of appearance andother organoleptic properties.

Referring to FIG. 3, the process 300 begins in step 301 when a userloads the browser on the client 110 for viewing and/or controlling anoperation of the grain management system. As shown in step 302, theprocess 300 can include receiving one or more types of data inputs, suchas RH, temperature, air pressure, weight, or other environmentalparameters, status of the grain bin, or a characteristic of grain in thegrain bin. This data can be provided automatically or in response to arequest or signal controlled or sent by the user. The data can beobtained through a variety of different monitoring devices that can beused with grain storage equipment, inside or outside the grain bin, asdiscussed herein. For example, the monitoring devices can comprisecondition sensor assemblies configured to detect environmentalconditions inside or outside a grain bin, such as temperature, RH,absolute humidity, air velocity, or air pressure, and/or attributes ofthe grain or grain bin, such as grain mass, temperature, weight, size,or other such attributes. Such sensing devices can include thosedisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,806,772, the entirety of which isincorporated herein by reference.

Optionally, in step 304, the process 300 can comprise displaying grainvarietal information for selection by the user. The user can inputinformation, such as a varietal input, that is representative of a grainvariety in step 306. The varietal input can comprise one or more traitsor characteristics of the grain itself. For example, the varietal inputcan comprise a number that is entered by the user into the system. Thenumber entered by the user can correspond to a given grain or seed type,as is used in the industry. The varietal input can identify certaintraits of the grain, such as general traits (such as drought resistantor dry down characteristics), plant and seed traits (such as G2genetics-accelerated yield technology), management traits (such asherbicide tolerant), and/or general health traits (such as diseaseresistance, including, for example, polypethora tolerance, brown root,stem rot, white mold, fungi leaf spot, nematode resistant,rust-resistant, root rot, corn borer resistance, rootworm resistance,diplodia ear rot resistance, phytophthora tolerance, black cutwormresistance, fall armyworm resistance, and others).

Further, in step 308, the process 300 can optionally comprise displayingnutrient characteristic information for selection by the user. Thenutrient characteristic information can comprise one or more food gradeattributes, such as germ, grass seed, oil, protein, starch,carbohydrate, lipid, amino acid, vitamin, mineral, antioxidant, millingquality, baking quality, malt quality (e.g., malt extract, diastaticpower and wort viscosity), or other food nutrient characteristics orcontent classes. For example, milling can depend on three factors: (i)size and evenness of the kernels (which can closely correlate with theweight of grain, e.g., determined by thousand-kernel weight); (ii)texture of the endosperm (which can be characterized by glassiness orpearling index and hardness, which can influence the energy required formilling as well as the amount of semolina obtained); and (iii)percentage ratio of the seed coating (e.g., generally, the larger thekernel, and if the layers are not thicker, then the lower the ratio ofseed-coating to the endosperm and germ). Further, baking quality canrelate to the types of wheat uses and processing conditions. Forinstance, strong (hard) wheat is considered of the higher quality andsuitable for bread making, whereas most cakes are made using soft wheatflour. Baking quality can be based on the rheological properties ofwheat flour. The rheological property of wheat flour is essentialbecause it can determine other physical characteristics, such as dough(baking) volume and sensory attributes. The user can select one or moreof these food nutrient characteristics, which can be received by thesystem, as illustrated in step 310.

For example, seed germination or germ is affected by various factors,such as seed vitality, genotype, seed maturation and seed dormancy. Theseed temperature and moisture content need to be maintained at optimumcondition to protect the germination percentage by reducing themetabolic activity of seeds. The optimum condition is not uniform forall types of seed. Based on the equilibrium moisture contentcharacteristics of seed, this optimum condition varies. Successful seedstorage can depend upon the seed moisture, seed temperature, RH, and/orinitial seed quality. In general, a 1% reduction in seed moisturedoubles the life of seed. Further, in general, each 5° C. (9° F.)reduction in temperature doubles the life of seed. However, there is alower limit and an upper limit in seed moisture content and temperaturefor not killing the germ. Optimum storage condition in terms of seedtemperature and RH can be provided as T(° F.)+RH (%)≧100. Further, theseed temperature and RH can be related with equilibrium moisture contentcharacteristics of that seed. For example, for soybean, if the RH isless than 40%, the soybean splits and loses germination. In accordancewith some embodiments, such an outcome can be avoided using one of theseed storage systems disclosed herein, which can employ the use of EMCcurves for determining instructions for controlling and operating grainstorage equipment.

Similarly, oil or fat in grain will break down into free fatty acids(FFA) and glycerol by lipases during storage when the temperature andmoisture content are high. FFA is an indicator of grain spoilage. Lipidoxidation in grains can degrade linoleic and linolenic acids, vitamin A,vitamin C, tocoferols and carotenoids. Accordingly, for grain such assoybeans, the temperature should be kept below 40° C. to have good oilcontent in the grain.

With regard to protein, the solubility (see the nitrogen solubilityindex) and digestibility of grain protein can decrease during storagedue to adverse temperature and RH conditions. For example, adversetemperature and RH affects tofu yield and soymilk quality. At highersoybean storage temperature (above 20° C.) and RH (above 55%), the pHvalue of soymilk decreases which decreases the solid extractability.These reductions may be higher or lower based on the soybean hybrids. At30° C. and 40° C., a study has shown significant decreases in tofuyield, but not at 22° C. Accordingly, if there is a hotspot in a soybeanbin intended for tofu, and the temperature has risen above 30° C., thequality of the tofu will be greatly affected.

Similarly, wheat protein has shown that at 10° C., there was nobiochemical change occurred in wheat; however, above 25° C., there weresignificant decreases in total available lysine by more than 18% andprotein digestibility decreased by above 5%.

With regard to starch and carbohydrates, these food grade attributes canbe protected by maintaining a low moisture content of the grain (low RH)and low temperature. Low moisture content of the grain (i.e., low RH)and low temperature can reduce the respiration rate of the grain,thereby preventing decomposition of the starch or carbohydrate contentand decreasing fungi and bacteria. Storing grain at proper conditions,such as at a RH of less than 65% and a temperature of less than 60° F.(about 15° C.) can provide optimum storage conditions for short durationstorage, e.g., less than six months for temperate climates and less thanone to two months for tropical climates. For longer duration storage(e.g., greater than six months), the grain needs to be maintained in anenvironment in which the RH is less than 55%. If the grain is storedmore than one year and in a storage bin, the grain should be cooled,warmed up, and/or aerated to maintain proper conditions. Otherwise, thegrain can spoil because of moisture migration or condensation due totemperature gradient in the grain mass.

Referring again to FIG. 3, as shown in step 312, the process 300 cangenerate instructions, based on the received input, for controlling anoperation of the grain storage equipment. The process 300 can berepeated as new data or inputs are received into the system,automatically or manually. Therefore, some embodiments disclosed hereincan condition grain by monitoring grain temperature and moisture and/orproviding instructions for an aeration or drying strategy or programbased on the desired food grade attributes of the grain (protein,starch, oil, germ, and others). Thus, fan controllers and algorithmsbased on weather data and grain temperature and moisture data can beused in some embodiments to properly condition grain in a grain bin.

Grain conditioning equipment may be controlled based on the generatedinstructions. For example, the grain conditioning equipment may beactivated or deactivated based on the instructions. The instructions mayfurther establish parameters for a grain conditioning operation, such astiming, duration, rates/ratios, and magnitude of operation of the grainconditioning equipment. Alternatively, an active grain conditioningoperation or strategy or program may be updated or modified based on theinstructions.

In an implementation of some embodiments, Applicants have found thatwhen the starch and protein content of corn is lower, a representativeEMC curve is also lower. For example, a high protein content (10.6%) andstarch content (70.4%) of a corn hybrid (“P9690R hybrid”) exhibits anEMC curve that allows the P9690R hybrid to store well at a storagemoisture content of 15% to 15.5%. However, another corn hybrid(“P1018AMX hybrid”) with a lower protein content (7.7%) and starchcontent (60%) exhibits a lower EMC curve. If stored at the samemarketable moisture content of 15-15.5% as the P9690R hybrid, theprotein and starch content of the P1018AMX hybrid will degrade. Thischange in starch, protein, and/or oil content and its relationship tothe EMC values can be used in some embodiments disclosed herein toprovide superior grain conditioning in order to target desirednutritional attributes and/or two reflect growing, conditioning, orenvironmental characteristics.

Referring now to FIG. 4, the process 350 begins in step 351 when a userloads the browser on the client 110 for viewing and/or controlling anoperation of the grain management system. As shown in step 352, theprocess 350 can include receiving one or more types of data inputs,including detect environmental conditions inside or outside a grain bin,such as temperature, RH, absolute humidity, air velocity, or airpressure, and/or attributes of the grain or grain bin, such as grainmass, temperature, weight, size, or other such attributes, as discussedabove with respect to process 300.

Steps 354 and 356 optionally can be performed to display grain varietalinformation and/or receive a selection of a varietal input from theuser, as discussed above with respect to process 300.

The process 350 can optionally comprise displaying growingcharacteristic information for selection by the user, as shown in step358. The growing characteristic information can comprise one or moreenvironmental or drying characteristics to which the grain has been orwill be subjected, such as harvest time or maturity, the area in whichthe grain is grown (including soil types, weather, climate zones, orother attributes of the environment in which the grain is grown), seedcoating thickness, the type of fertilizer used, the plant population,the planting mode, the drying method, or other environmental or dryingcharacteristics. Other growing characteristics can include growingdegree units (“GDU”) attained during growth. A GDU can be calculated asa daily measurement of heat accumulation that can be used to predictplant development rates, such as the date that a crop will reachmaturity. The GDU for a given day can be calculated by taking an averageof the maximum and minimum temperatures for the day and subtracting abase temperature from the average. The cumulative GDU for a given plantcan be the summation of daily GDU over the growing season. For example,a given seed type may attain 2700 GDU during its growth time beforeharvest.

Moreover, other growing characteristic information can comprise organicor inorganic cultivation practices, nighttime air temperature duringflowering or critical growth stages, type of tillage used (no till orminimal or intensive or conversation tillage with different crop residuecover), use of any agricultural biologicals (e.g., microbials, plantextracts, beneficial insects and other material used to increase crophealth and productivity), and/or soil moisture and temperature.

The user can enter one or more of these growing characteristics, whichcan be received by the system, as illustrated in step 360.

For example, the harvest time can be a growing characteristic entered bythe user that can be factored into the conditioning of the grain.Applicants have found that if a given grain stays in the field longerthan another grain, the given grain tends to cannibalize itself ordegrade, and will therefore behave differently in the bin than the othergrain. Thus, the harvest time of grain can affect the maturity andbehavior of the grain in the storage bin. The harvest time can be anindicator, number, or data representative of a comparison of therecommended maturity date or harvest date by the seed company and theactual harvest time of the grain. In addition or instead, the harvesttime can be the moisture content of the grain at harvest. Generally, toensure optimal harvest timing, so that the farmer can reduce or avoidfield loss, the seed company provides information regarding an optimummoisture content level for grain at harvest. This information, and/orthe measured moisture content level of the grain at harvest, can be usedas the harvest time growing characteristic, according to someembodiments. Thus, the harvest time can include the moisture content ofthe grain at harvest (actual or expected), the harvest date (e.g., themonth or day of the year, whether absolute or relative to a date, suchas a target harvest date), and/or the harvest environmentalcharacteristics (e.g., temperature, RH, absolute humidity, air velocity,air pressure, and/or other characteristics). For storage, the grain canbe conditioned by lowering RH and temperature based on the EMCcharacteristics of the grains.

Further, the area in which the grain is grown can be entered as acharacteristic input, representative of a growing characteristic, thatcan be factored into the conditioning of the grain. Although there arehundreds of types of soil, some of the soil types that can be entered orselected by the user include fine sandy loam, loan, silt loam, siltyclay, silty clay loam, clay, clay loam, sandy, sandy loam, and any ofthe various subcategories. For example, subcategories can be given asthe percentages of land area occupied by the soils of 12 orders,estimated as: Alfisols 13.9%, Andisols 1.7%, Aridisols 8.3%, Entisols12.3%, Gelisols 8.7%, Inceptisols 9.7%, Mollisols 21.5%, Oxisols 0.02%,Spodosols 3.5%, Ultisols 9.2%, and Vertisols 2.0%.

In some embodiments, the weather or climate zones can also be used as acharacteristic input. For example, a measure of the temperature duringgrowth of the grain (e.g., an average daily temperature, temperaturerange, temperature highs and/or lows), precipitation or irrigationinformation (e.g., irrigation per acre, average rainfall), sun exposureduring growth of the grain, RH during growth of the grain, or climatezone in which the grain is grown can be uses a characteristic input.Further, the seed coating thickness or strength, which can affect dryingand splitting of grain, such as soybeans, can be used as acharacteristic input.

Other characteristic inputs can include the type of fertilizer used. Forexample, some types of fertilizer include categories such as nitrogen,phosphorus, potassium, inorganic and organic forms. Characteristicinputs can also include the planting mode of the grain. For example, theuser can input whether the grain was plowed in, tilled in, no till,whether corn stover was removed, or otherwise planting conditions.

Characteristic inputs related to conditioning or drying methods caninclude whether the grain will be dried at a high temperature (loss testweight during drying and there will be a change in EMC characteristics),whether the grain will be dried at a low temperature (which is generallygood for drying and maintain seed quality), whether a spreader will beused (such as spreading the fine in the grain mass evenly in the bin orcollecting grain in the center and removing as coring), the airflowrate, the amount of mycotoxins contamination from field, the amount offines, broken kernels, splits, and/or other such parameters.

As shown in FIG. 4, after a characteristic input has been received, step362 can be performed in which the process 350 generates instructions,based on the received input, for controlling and operation of the grainstorage equipment. The process 350 can be repeated as new data or inputsare received into the system, automatically or manually. Therefore, someembodiments disclosed herein can condition grain by monitoring graintemperature and moisture and/or providing instructions for an aerationor drying strategy or program based on a characteristic (e.g., agrowing, environmental, or conditioning characteristic) of the grain.Thus, fan controllers and algorithms based on weather data and graintemperature and moisture data can be used in some embodiments toproperly condition grain in a grain bin.

Grain conditioning equipment may be controlled based on the generatedinstructions. For example, the grain conditioning equipment may beactivated or deactivated based on the instructions. The instructions mayfurther establish parameters for a grain conditioning operation, such astiming, duration, rates/ratios, and magnitude of operation of the grainconditioning equipment. Alternatively, an active grain conditioningoperation or strategy or program may be updated or modified based on theinstructions.

FIGS. 5A-5C illustrate example screenshots 400, 402, 404 of how adisplay for the process may appear to a user on the client 110. FIG. 5Aillustrates a screenshot 400 of a display of user-selectable categories,such as seed brand, seed variety, weather type, soil type, maturity,fertilizer, or drying method. FIG. 5B illustrates a screenshot 402 of adisplay in which a drop-down selection menu of different seed companiesor brands is expanded so that a given company or brand can be selectedby the user. Further, FIG. 5B illustrates a screenshot 404 of a displayin which various parameters have been designated by the user, which canthen be used as a basis for generating instructions for operation of thegrain conditioning equipment.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example computer system 500with which the client 110 and server 130 of FIG. 2 can be implemented.In certain aspects, the computer system 500 may be implemented usinghardware or a combination of software and hardware, either in adedicated server, or integrated into another entity, or distributedacross multiple entities.

Computer system 500 (e.g., client 110 and server 130) includes a bus 508or other communication mechanism for communicating information, and aprocessor 502 (e.g., processor 212 and 236) coupled with bus 508 forprocessing information. By way of example, the computer system 500 maybe implemented with one or more processors 502. Processor 502 may be ageneral-purpose microprocessor, a microcontroller, a Digital SignalProcessor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), aField Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a Programmable Logic Device (PLD),a controller, a state machine, gated logic, discrete hardwarecomponents, or any other suitable entity that can perform calculationsor other manipulations of information.

Computer system 500 can include, in addition to hardware, code thatcreates an execution environment for the computer program in question,e.g., code that constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack, adatabase management system, an operating system, or a combination of oneor more of them stored in an included memory 504 (e.g., memory 220 and232), such as a Random Access Memory (RAM), a flash memory, a Read OnlyMemory (ROM), a Programmable Read-Only Memory (PROM), an Erasable PROM(EPROM), registers, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD, orany other suitable storage device, coupled to bus 508 for storinginformation and instructions to be executed by processor 502. Theprocessor 502 and the memory 504 can be supplemented by, or incorporatedin, special purpose logic circuitry.

The instructions may be stored in the memory 504 and implemented in oneor more computer program products, i.e., one or more modules of computerprogram instructions encoded on a computer readable medium for executionby, or to control the operation of, the computer system 500, andaccording to any method, including, but not limited to, computerlanguages such as data-oriented languages (e.g., SQL, dBase), systemlanguages (e.g., C, Objective-C, C++, Assembly), architectural languages(e.g., Java, .NET), and application languages (e.g., PHP, Ruby, Perl,Python). Instructions may also be implemented in computer languages suchas array languages, aspect-oriented languages, assembly languages,authoring languages, command line interface languages, compiledlanguages, concurrent languages, curly-bracket languages, dataflowlanguages, data-structured languages, declarative languages, esotericlanguages, extension languages, fourth-generation languages, functionallanguages, interactive mode languages, interpreted languages, iterativelanguages, list-based languages, little languages, logic-basedlanguages, machine languages, macro languages, metaprogramminglanguages, multiparadigm languages, numerical analysis,non-English-based languages, object-oriented class-based languages,object-oriented prototype-based languages, off-side rule languages,procedural languages, reflective languages, rule-based languages,scripting languages, stack-based languages, synchronous languages,syntax handling languages, visual languages, wirth languages, embeddablelanguages, and xml-based languages. Memory 504 may also be used forstoring temporary variable or other intermediate information duringexecution of instructions to be executed by processor 502.

A computer program as discussed herein does not necessarily correspondto a file in a file system. A program can be stored in a portion of afile that holds other programs or data (e.g., one or more scripts storedin a markup language document), in a single file dedicated to theprogram in question, or in multiple coordinated files (e.g., files thatstore one or more modules, subprograms, or portions of code). A computerprogram can be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiplecomputers that are located at one site or distributed across multiplesites and interconnected by a communication network. The processes andlogic flows described in this specification can be performed by one ormore programmable processors executing one or more computer programs toperform functions by operating on input data and generating output.

Computer system 500 further includes a data storage device 506 such as amagnetic disk or optical disk, coupled to bus 508 for storinginformation and instructions. Computer system 500 may be coupled viainput/output module 510 to various devices. The input/output module 510can be any input/output module. Example input/output modules 510 includedata ports such as USB ports. The input/output module 510 is configuredto connect to a communications module 512. Example communicationsmodules 512 (e.g., communications module 218 and 238) include networkinginterface cards, such as Ethernet cards and modems. In certain aspects,the input/output module 510 is configured to connect to a plurality ofdevices, such as an input device 514 (e.g., input device 216) and/or anoutput device 516 (e.g., output device 214). Example input devices 514include a keyboard and a pointing device, e.g., a mouse or a trackball,by which a user can provide input to the computer system 500. Otherkinds of input devices 514 can be used to provide for interaction with auser as well, such as a tactile input device, visual input device, audioinput device, or brain-computer interface device. For example, feedbackprovided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback, e.g., visualfeedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input from theuser can be received in any form, including acoustic, speech, tactile,or brain wave input. Example output devices 516 include display devices,such as a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystal display)monitor, for displaying information to the user.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the client 110 andserver 130 can be implemented using a computer system 500 in response toprocessor 502 executing one or more sequences of one or moreinstructions contained in memory 504. Such instructions may be read intomemory 504 from another machine-readable medium, such as data storagedevice 506. Execution of the sequences of instructions contained in mainmemory 504 causes processor 502 to perform the process steps describedherein. One or more processors in a multi-processing arrangement mayalso be employed to execute the sequences of instructions contained inmemory 504. In alternative aspects, hard-wired circuitry may be used inplace of or in combination with software instructions to implementvarious aspects of the present disclosure. Thus, aspects of the presentdisclosure are not limited to any specific combination of hardwarecircuitry and software.

Various aspects of the subject matter described in this specificationcan be implemented in a computing system that includes a back endcomponent, e.g., as a data server, or that includes a middlewarecomponent, e.g., an application server, or that includes a front endcomponent, e.g., a client computer having a graphical user interface ora Web browser through which a user can interact with an implementationof the subject matter described in this specification, or anycombination of one or more such back end, middleware, or front endcomponents. The components of the system can be interconnected by anyform or medium of digital data communication, e.g., a communicationnetwork. The communication network (e.g., network 150) can include, forexample, any one or more of a personal area network (PAN), a local areanetwork (LAN), a campus area network (CAN), a metropolitan area network(MAN), a wide area network (WAN), a broadband network (BBN), theInternet, and the like. Further, the communication network can include,but is not limited to, for example, any one or more of the followingnetwork topologies, including a bus network, a star network, a ringnetwork, a mesh network, a star-bus network, tree or hierarchicalnetwork, or the like. The communications modules can be, for example,modems or Ethernet cards.

Computing system 500 can include clients and servers. A client andserver are generally remote from each other and typically interactthrough a communication network. The relationship of client and serverarises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other.Computer system 500 can be, for example, and without limitation, adesktop computer, laptop computer, or tablet computer. Computer system500 can also be embedded in another device, for example, and withoutlimitation, a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), amobile audio player, a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, a videogame console, and/or a television set top box.

The term “machine-readable storage medium” or “computer readable medium”as used herein refers to any medium or media that participates inproviding instructions to processor 502 for execution. Such a medium maytake many forms, including, but not limited to, non-volatile media,volatile media, and transmission media. Non-volatile media include, forexample, optical or magnetic disks, such as data storage device 506.Volatile media include dynamic memory, such as memory 504. Transmissionmedia include coaxial cables, copper wire, and fiber optics, includingthe wires that comprise bus 508. Common forms of machine-readable mediainclude, for example, floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetictape, any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, DVD, any other opticalmedium, punch cards, paper tape, any other physical medium with patternsof holes, a RAM, a PROM, an EPROM, a FLASH EPROM, any other memory chipor cartridge, or any other medium from which a computer can read. Themachine-readable storage medium can be a machine-readable storagedevice, a machine-readable storage substrate, a memory device, acomposition of matter effecting a machine-readable propagated signal, ora combination of one or more of them.

While this specification contains many specifics, these should not beconstrued as limitations on the scope of what may be claimed, but ratheras descriptions of particular implementations of the subject matter.Certain features that are described in this specification in the contextof separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in asingle embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described inthe context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multipleembodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover,although features may be described above as acting in certaincombinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more featuresfrom a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from thecombination, and the claimed combination may be directed to asubcombination or variation of a subcombination.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particularorder, this should not be understood as requiring that such operationsbe performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, orthat all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirableresults. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processingmay be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various systemcomponents in the aspects described above should not be understood asrequiring such separation in all aspects, and it should be understoodthat the described program components and systems can generally beintegrated together in a single software product or packaged intomultiple software products.

The subject matter of this specification has been described in terms ofparticular aspects, but other aspects can be implemented and are withinthe scope of the following claims. For example, the actions recited inthe claims can be performed in a different order and still achievedesirable results. As one example, the processes depicted in theaccompanying figures do not necessarily require the particular ordershown, or sequential order, to achieve desirable results. In certainimplementations, multitasking and parallel processing may beadvantageous. Other variations are within the scope of the followingclaims.

Illustration of Subject Technology as Clauses

The present disclosure provides for a conditioning system that candetermine a grain conditioning operation for a grain mass based on dataassociated with the grain mass. Optionally, the data associated with thegrain mass is received from a sensor. The sensor may be positionedwithin or near the grain mass. Optionally, the system can take intoaccount a food nutrient characteristic for the grain mass. The foodnutrient characteristic may be one or more of a germ, grass seed, oil,protein, starch, carbohydrate, lipid, amino acid, vitamin, mineral,antioxidant, milling, baking quality, and malt quality.

Optionally, the system can take into account humidity data of air withinthe grain mass. Optionally, the system can take into account a grainvariety data of the grain mass. Optionally, the system may control agrain conditioning equipment based on the grain conditioning operation.The grain conditioning equipment may comprise drying equipment and thegrain conditioning operation may comprise a drying operation.

Optionally, the system comprises an interface. The interface may displaythe data associated with the grain mass and/or the growingcharacteristic. The interface may facilitate inputting the dataassociated with the grain mass and/or the food nutrient characteristic.The interface may comprise grain varieties, at least one of which beingselectable through the interface to input the data associated with thegrain mass. The interface may comprise food nutrient characteristics, atleast one of which being selectable through the interface to input thefood nutrient characteristic of the grain mass. The interface maycomprise a touch input. Optionally, the system comprises a handhelddevice for presenting the interface.

Optionally, the system determines a grain conditioning operationsuitable for storing the grain mass based on the grain variety of thegrain mass and a growing characteristic of the grain mass.

Various examples of aspects of the disclosure are described as numberedclauses (1, 2, 3, etc.) for convenience. These are provided as examples,and do not limit the subject technology. Identifications of the figuresand reference numbers are provided below merely as examples and forillustrative purposes, and the clauses are not limited by thoseidentifications.

Clause 1. A system comprising: one or more processors; and anon-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions storedtherein, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause theone or more processors to perform operations comprising: receiving dataassociated with a grain mass; receiving at least one food nutrientcharacteristic associated with the grain mass; and determining a grainconditioning operation for the grain mass based at least on the dataassociated with the grain mass and the at least one food nutrientcharacteristic.

Clause 2. The system of Clause 1, wherein the data associated with thegrain mass comprises humidity data of air within the grain mass andgrain variety data of the grain mass.

Clause 3. The system of Clause 1 or 2, wherein the at least one foodnutrient characteristic comprises at least one of a germ, grass seed,oil, protein, starch, carbohydrate, lipid, amino acid, vitamin, mineral,antioxidant, milling, baking quality, and malt quality.

Clause 4. The system of Clause 1, 2, or 3, wherein the operationsfurther comprise controlling a grain conditioning equipment based on thegrain conditioning operation.

Clause 5. The system of Clause 4, wherein the grain conditioningoperation comprises a drying operation and the grain conditioningequipment comprises drying equipment.

Clause 6. The system of any of Clauses 1-5, wherein the data associatedwith the grain mass is received from a sensor configured to bepositioned within the grain mass to detect the data associated with thegrain mass.

Clause 7. The system of any of Clauses 1-6, further comprising aninterface for displaying the data associated with the grain mass and theat least one food nutrient characteristic.

Clause 8. The system of Clause 7, wherein the interface facilitatesinputting of the data associated with the grain mass and the at leastone food nutrient characteristic.

Clause 9. The system of Clause 7 or 8, wherein the interface comprises aplurality of grain varieties, at least one of the plurality of grainvarieties selected through the interface as the data associated with thegrain mass, wherein the interface comprises a plurality of food nutrientcharacteristics, at least one of the plurality of food nutrientcharacteristics selected through the interface as the at least one foodnutrient characteristic.

Clause 10. The system of Clause 7, 8, or 9, wherein the interfacecomprises a touch input.

Clause 11. The system of any of Clauses 7-10, further comprising ahandheld device for presenting the interface.

Clause 12. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprisinginstructions stored therein, which when executed by one or moreprocessors, cause the one or more processors to perform operationscomprising: receiving humidity data of air within a grain mass;receiving at least one food nutrient characteristic for the grain mass;and determining a grain conditioning operation for the grain mass basedat least on the humidity data and the at least one food nutrientcharacteristic.

Clause 13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of Clause 12,wherein the at least one food nutrient characteristic comprises at leastone of a germ, grass seed, oil, protein, starch, carbohydrate, lipid,amino acid, vitamin, mineral, antioxidant, milling, baking quality, andmalt quality.

Clause 14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of Clause 12 or13, wherein the operations further comprise controlling a grainconditioning equipment based on the grain conditioning operation.

Clause 15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of Clause 12, 13,or 14, wherein the humidity data is received from a sensor positionedwithin the grain mass.

Clause 16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of Clauses12-15, further comprising receiving grain variety data of the grainmass, wherein the grain conditioning operation is further determinedbased on the grain variety data.

Clause 17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of Clause 16,wherein the at least one food nutrient characteristic and the grainvariety data are received from an interface comprising a plurality offood nutrient characteristics and a plurality of grain varieties.

Clause 18. A method comprising: receiving humidity data of air within agrain mass; receiving grain variety data of the grain mass; receiving atleast one food nutrient characteristic for the grain mass; determining agrain conditioning operation for the grain mass based at least on thehumidity data and the at least one food nutrient characteristic; andcontrolling a grain conditioning equipment based on the grainconditioning operation.

Clause 19. The method of Clause 18, wherein the grain conditioningoperation comprises a drying operation and the grain conditioningequipment comprises drying equipment.

Clause 20. The method of Clause 18 or 19, wherein the humidity data isreceived from a sensor, and the at least one food nutrientcharacteristic and the grain variety data are received from an interfacecomprising a plurality of food nutrient characteristics and a pluralityof grain varieties.

Other Remarks

In one aspect, any of the clauses herein may depend from any one of theindependent clauses or any one of the dependent clauses. In one aspect,any of the clauses (e.g., dependent or independent clauses) may becombined with any other one or more clauses (e.g., dependent orindependent clauses). In one aspect, a claim may include some or all ofthe words (e.g., steps, operations, means or components) recited in aclause, a sentence, a phrase or a paragraph. In one aspect, a claim mayinclude some or all of the words recited in one or more clauses,sentences, phrases or paragraphs. In one aspect, some of the words ineach of the clauses, sentences, phrases or paragraphs may be removed. Inone aspect, additional words or elements may be added to a clause, asentence, a phrase or a paragraph. In one aspect, the subject technologymay be implemented without utilizing some of the components, elements,functions or operations described herein. In one aspect, the subjecttechnology may be implemented utilizing additional components, elements,functions or operations.

In one aspect, any methods, instructions, code, means, logic,components, blocks, modules and the like (e.g., software or hardware)described or claimed herein can be represented in drawings (e.g., flowcharts, block diagrams), such drawings (regardless of whether explicitlyshown or not) are expressly incorporated herein by reference, and suchdrawings (if not yet explicitly shown) can be added to the disclosurewithout constituting new matter. For brevity, some (but not necessarilyall) of the clauses/descriptions/claims are explicitly represented indrawings, but any of the clauses/descriptions/claims can be representedin drawings in a manner similar to those drawings explicitly shown. Forexample, a flow chart can be drawn for any of the clauses, sentences orclaims for a method such that each operation or step is connected to thenext operation or step by an arrow. In another example, a block diagramcan be drawn for any of the clauses, sentences or claims havingmeans-for elements (e.g., means for performing an action) such that eachmeans-for element can be represented as a module for element (e.g., amodule for performing an action).

Those of skill in the art would appreciate that items such as thevarious illustrative blocks, modules, elements, components, methods,operations, steps, and algorithms described herein may be implemented ashardware, computer software, or a combination of both.

To illustrate the interchangeability of hardware and software, itemssuch as the various illustrative blocks, modules, elements, components,methods, operations, steps, and algorithms have been described generallyin terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality isimplemented as hardware or software depends upon the particularapplication and design constraints imposed on the overall system.Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varyingways for each particular application.

In one aspect, means, a block, a module, an element, a component or aprocessor may be an item (e.g., one or more of blocks, modules,elements, components or processors) for performing one or more functionsor operations. In one aspect, such an item may be an apparatus,hardware, or a portion thereof. In one example, an item may have astructure in the form of, for example, an instruction(s) encoded orstored on a machine-readable medium, on another device, or on a portionthereof. An instruction(s) may be software, an application(s), asubroutine(s), or a portion thereof. The instructions(s) may be forperforming the function(s) or operation(s). The instruction(s) may beexecutable by one or more processors to perform the function(s) oroperation(s). One or more processors may execute the instruction(s) by,for example, transferring or copying and instructions into an executablememory space and execute the instructions. In one example, an item maybe implemented as one or more circuits configured to perform thefunction(s) or operation(s). A circuit may include one or more circuitsand/or logic. A circuit may be analog and/or digital. A circuit may beelectrical and/or optical. A circuit may include transistors. In anexample, one or more items may be implemented as a processing system(e.g., a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA),etc.), as a portion(s) of any of the foregoing, or as a combination(s)of any of the foregoing. Those skilled in the art will recognize how toimplement the instructions, circuits, and processing systems.

In one aspect of the disclosure, when actions or functions (e.g.,receiving, determining, providing, generating, converting, displaying,notifying, accepting, selecting, controlling, transmitting, reporting,sending, or any other action or function) are described as beingperformed by an item (e.g., one or more of blocks, modules, elements,components or processors), it is understood that such actions orfunctions may be performed, for example, by the item directly. Inanother example, when an item is described as performing an action, theitem may be understood to perform the action indirectly, for example, byfacilitating such an action (e.g., assisting, allowing, enabling,causing, or providing for, such action to occur; or performing a portionof such an action). For example, determining can refer to facilitatingdetermination, attaching can refer to facilitating attaching, andreceiving can refer to facilitating receiving. In one aspect, performingan action may refer to performing a portion of the action (e.g.,performing a beginning part of the action, performing an end part of theaction, or performing a middle portion of the action).

A reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean oneand only one unless specifically so stated, but rather one or more. Forexample, a clock signal may refer to one or more clock signals, acontrol signal may refer to one or more control signals, an input signalmay refer to one or more input signals, an output signal may refer toone or more output signals, and a signal may refer to differentialvoltage signals.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term some refers to one ormore. Pronouns in the masculine (e.g., his) include the feminine andneuter gender (e.g., her and its) and vice versa. Headings andsubheadings, if any, are used for convenience only and do not limit theinvention.

The word exemplary is used herein to mean serving as an example orillustration. Any aspect or design described herein as exemplary is notnecessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over otheraspects or designs. In one aspect, various alternative configurationsand operations described herein may be considered to be at leastequivalent.

Phrases such as an aspect, the aspect, another aspect, some aspects, oneor more aspects, an implementation, the implementation, anotherimplementation, some implementations, one or more implementations, anembodiment, the embodiment, another embodiment, some embodiments, one ormore embodiments, a configuration, the configuration, anotherconfiguration, some configurations, one or more configurations, thesubject technology, the disclosure, the present disclosure, othervariations thereof and alike are for convenience and do not imply that adisclosure relating to such phrase(s) is essential to the subjecttechnology or that such disclosure applies to all configurations of thesubject technology. A disclosure relating to such phrase(s) may apply toall configurations, or one or more configurations. A disclosure relatingto such phrase(s) may provide one or more examples. A phrase such as anaspect or some aspects may refer to one or more aspects and vice versa,and this applies similarly to other foregoing phrases.

In one aspect, unless otherwise stated, all measurements, values,ratings, positions, magnitudes, sizes, and other specifications that areset forth in this specification, including in the claims that follow,are approximate, not exact. In one aspect, they are intended to have areasonable range that is consistent with the functions to which theyrelate and with what is customary in the art to which they pertain. Inone aspect, some of the dimensions are for clarity of presentation andare not to scale.

In one aspect, a term coupled or the like may refer to being directlycoupled. In another aspect, a term coupled or the like may refer tobeing indirectly coupled.

Terms such as top, bottom, front, rear, side, horizontal, vertical, andthe like refer to an arbitrary frame of reference, rather than to theordinary gravitational frame of reference. Thus, such a term may extendupwardly, downwardly, diagonally, or horizontally in a gravitationalframe of reference.

A phrase “at least one of” preceding a series of items, with the terms“and” or “or” to separate any of the items, modifies the list as awhole, rather than each member of the list (i.e., each item). The phrase“at least one of” does not require selection of at least one item;rather, the phrase allows a meaning that includes at least one of anyone of the items, and/or at least one of any combination of the items,and/or at least one of each of the items. By way of example, the phrases“at least one of A, B, and C” or “at least one of A, B, or C” each referto only A, only B, or only C; any combination of A, B, and C; and/or atleast one of each of A, B, and C.

In one or more aspects, the terms “substantially” and “approximately”may provide an industry-accepted tolerance for their corresponding termsand/or relativity between items. Such an industry-accepted tolerance mayrange from less than one percent to 20 percent.

Various items may be arranged differently (e.g., arranged in a differentorder, or partitioned in a different way) all without departing from thescope of the subject technology. In one aspect of the disclosure, theelements recited in the accompanying claims may be performed by one ormore modules or sub-modules.

It is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps,operations or processes disclosed is an illustration of exemplaryapproaches. Based upon design preferences, it is understood that thespecific order or hierarchy of steps, operations or processes may berearranged. Some of the steps, operations or processes may be performedsimultaneously. Some or all of the steps, operations, or processes maybe performed automatically, without the intervention of a user. Theaccompanying method claims, if any, present elements of the varioussteps, operations or processes in a sample order, and are not meant tobe limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

The disclosure is provided to enable any person skilled in the art topractice the various aspects described herein. The disclosure providesvarious examples of the subject technology, and the subject technologyis not limited to these examples. Various modifications to these aspectswill be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the genericprinciples defined herein may be applied to other aspects.

All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the variousaspects described throughout this disclosure that are known or latercome to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expresslyincorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed bythe claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to bededicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure isexplicitly recited in the claims. No claim element is to be construedunder the provisions of 35 U.S.C. §112, sixth paragraph, unless theelement is expressly recited using a phrase means for or, in the case ofa method claim, the element is recited using the phrase step for.Furthermore, to the extent that the term include, have, or the like isused, such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to theterm comprise as comprise is interpreted when employed as a transitionalword in a claim.

The Title, Background, Summary, Brief Description of the Drawings andAbstract of the disclosure are hereby incorporated into the disclosureand are provided as illustrative examples of the disclosure, not asrestrictive descriptions. It is submitted with the understanding thatthey will not be used to limit the scope or meaning of the claims. Inaddition, in the Detailed Description, it can be seen that thedescription provides illustrative examples and the various features aregrouped together in various embodiments for the purpose of streamliningthe disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the claimed subject matter requires morefeatures than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as thefollowing claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than allfeatures of a single disclosed configuration or operation. The followingclaims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with eachclaim standing on its own as a separately claimed subject matter.

The claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects describedherein, but is to be accorded the full scope consistent with thelanguage claims and to encompass all legal equivalents. Notwithstanding,none of the claims are intended to embrace subject matter that fails tosatisfy the requirement of 35 U.S.C. §101, 102, or 103, nor should theybe interpreted in such a way. Any unintended embracement of such subjectmatter is hereby disclaimed.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: one or more processors; anda non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions storedtherein, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause theone or more processors to perform operations comprising: receiving dataassociated with a grain mass; receiving at least one food nutrientcharacteristic associated with the grain mass; and determining a grainconditioning operation for the grain mass based at least on the dataassociated with the grain mass and the at least one food nutrientcharacteristic.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the data associatedwith the grain mass comprises humidity data of air within the grain massand grain variety data of the grain mass.
 3. The system of claim 1,wherein the at least one food nutrient characteristic comprises at leastone of a germ, grass seed, oil, protein, starch, carbohydrate, lipid,amino acid, vitamin, mineral, antioxidant, milling, baking quality, andmalt quality.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations furthercomprise controlling a grain conditioning equipment based on the grainconditioning operation.
 5. The system of claim 4, wherein the grainconditioning operation comprises a drying operation and the grainconditioning equipment comprises drying equipment.
 6. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the data associated with the grain mass is receivedfrom a sensor configured to be positioned within the grain mass todetect the data associated with the grain mass.
 7. The system of claim1, further comprising an interface for displaying the data associatedwith the grain mass and the at least one food nutrient characteristic.8. The system of claim 7, wherein the interface facilitates inputting ofthe data associated with the grain mass and the at least one foodnutrient characteristic.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the interfacecomprises a plurality of grain varieties, at least one of the pluralityof grain varieties selected through the interface as the data associatedwith the grain mass, wherein the interface comprises a plurality of foodnutrient characteristics, at least one of the plurality of food nutrientcharacteristics selected through the interface as the at least one foodnutrient characteristic.
 10. The system of claim 8, wherein theinterface comprises a touch input.
 11. The system of claim 7, furthercomprising a handheld device for presenting the interface.
 12. Anon-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions storedtherein, which when executed by one or more processors, cause the one ormore processors to perform operations comprising: receiving humiditydata of air within a grain mass; receiving at least one food nutrientcharacteristic for the grain mass; and determining a grain conditioningoperation for the grain mass based at least on the humidity data and theat least one food nutrient characteristic.
 13. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the at least one foodnutrient characteristic comprises at least one of a germ, grass seed,oil, protein, starch, carbohydrate, lipid, amino acid, vitamin, mineral,antioxidant, milling, baking quality, and malt quality.
 14. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein theoperations further comprise controlling a grain conditioning equipmentbased on the grain conditioning operation.
 15. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the humidity data isreceived from a sensor positioned within the grain mass.
 16. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12, further comprisingreceiving grain variety data of the grain mass, wherein the grainconditioning operation is further determined based on the grain varietydata.
 17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16,wherein the at least one food nutrient characteristic and the grainvariety data are received from an interface comprising a plurality offood nutrient characteristics and a plurality of grain varieties.
 18. Amethod comprising: receiving humidity data of air within a grain mass;receiving grain variety data of the grain mass; receiving at least onefood nutrient characteristic for the grain mass; determining a grainconditioning operation for the grain mass based at least on the humiditydata and the at least one food nutrient characteristic; and controllinga grain conditioning equipment based on the grain conditioningoperation.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the grain conditioningoperation comprises a drying operation and the grain conditioningequipment comprises drying equipment.
 20. The method of claim 18,wherein the humidity data is received from a sensor, and the at leastone food nutrient characteristic and the grain variety data are receivedfrom an interface comprising a plurality of food nutrientcharacteristics and a plurality of grain varieties.